The 2025
“This Is For Me” Campaign
Together, Hirsch Wellness participants help provide programs for cancer patients and caregivers!
See our Class Schedule
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Arts Classes
Yoga & Wellness
Arts in Medicine
Funding Events
Arts Classes
Yoga & Wellness
Arts In Medicine
Funding Events
Hirsch Wellness Network
Healing Arts & Cancer Support Community
hirsch wellness network background
Since 2008, Hirsch Wellness has collaborated with local artists and wellness providers to create programs that offer a path to healing for cancer patients in treatment, survivors, caregivers and family members. Hirsch Wellness participants are encouraged to see life beyond their illness, to foster hope and inner healing as they explore the nurturing power within self-expression in a safe and encouraging cancer support community. Our non-clinical approach to wellness during and after cancer is designed to help each person regain confidence – both emotionally and physically – through creative group activities where shared experience connects individuals in a positive and profound way. Hirsch Wellness Network is a 501(c)3 non-profit. We gladly accept donations in any amount.
hirsch center – our creative space
The Hirsch Center for Wellness & Creativity is located in the beautifully restored Revolution Mill 1250 building, the former home of Cone Denim. Light-filled and airy with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and original wooden floors, our classroom’s open floor plan inspires artistic energy. The Hirsch Center hosts a full schedule of Healing Arts activities with monthly programs including painting, drawing, ceramics, photography, jewelry making, fiber arts, container gardening & horticulture therapies, creative writing and more. Our off-site partners include Triad Yoga Institute, where participants can enjoy weekly day classes designed for cancer patients and survivors, along with a monthly evening session geared toward mindfulness and meditation. The Hirsch Center is growing, and you can grow along with us. From initial diagnosis through treatment and beyond, we’re here for you.
Hirsch Wellness Network is a proud member of:
Support Hirsch and Give a Gift of Hope & Healing
Your gift helps us provide essential Healing Arts and Wellness programs FREE to cancer survivors, caregivers and family members. See the artwork and testimonials below from Jeannette, a Zentangle Class participant, and learn how Art is at the Heart of Healing!
Celebrating Generosity:
Hirsch Wellness greatly appreciates every contribution and we Thank You for being an important part of our Healing Arts and Cancer Support Community.
Mindful Moments
Featured artist: Molly Haile
Molly Haile is a writer and instructor with Hirsch Wellness Network. She leads the “Writing to Heal” workshop. She teaches creative writing at Salem College. Here she reads “Instructions on Not Giving Up” by United States Poet Laureate Ada Limón.
Our Classes
Hirsch Wellness programs are FREE for Cancer Patients in Treatment, Survivors & Caregivers.
Class registration is now within each event in the calendar below.
If you have problems with the new registration process, please email us at with your class requests, or call (336) 209-0259
12 events found.
Our Instructors
Susanne Baker
Fine Art Book Maker & Paper Marbling Artist
Susanne has an MFA in Book Arts from the University of Alabama where she learned the traditional techniques of letterpress printing, fine binding, marbling and other paper decoration techniques and hand papermaking. Her work is true to what she has learned and reflects her exposure to contemporary art and her background as a weaver. In her limited-edition book collaborations, she works with materials and methods to follow both the personality and work of the author. The content should be more than visual. Inclusions in the paper such as ground up clothing or other material from the author that are relevant to the author and their work make the finished product much more alive. For the decorative techniques in her limited editions as well as her other work she explores the contrasting elements of light, dark, shadow, color and pattern in an effort to create tension and visual interest. The physicality of paper and what can be done with it is a never-ending source of inspiration for her.
BiographyBetsy Bevan
Expressive Arts
Betsy lives a highly creative life as a musician, composer, painter, and writer. She teaches world music at Greensboro Montessori School part time and facilitates many expressive arts workshops while working on an arts certification. As a painter since 1995 she has developed a unique style through interest in the present moment process of making art. Betsy earned her master’s degree in music composition from the Eastman School of music and has produced three albums of original music for wellbeing. She writes and illustrates children’s stories, swims, and walks in nature for fun.
BiographyMary Beth Boone
Book Artist and Letterpress Printer
Mary Beth Boone is a book artist and letterpress printer living in Greensboro. She began making books over twenty years ago and in 2012 was inspired to purchase a Vandercook SP 15 letterpress. She prints under the imprint Purple Pumpkin Press. Mary Beth holds a MFA from the University of SC, Columbia. On the importance of art and her work with Hirsch, Mary Beth says, "Creativity is vital to my day-to-day existence. It just makes sense to support an organization dedicated to promoting healing through creativity."
BiographyTerry Brown
Yoga Instructor
Terry Brown, co-owner and co-director of the Triad Yoga Institute in Greensboro, NC, has been a student of yoga and meditation since 1984. His own experience with back pain led him to yoga and then to the profession of Physical Therapy; he is also a certified Yoga Therapist, certified Purna Yoga Instructor at the 2000 Hour Level, licensed Physical Therapist Assistant, a Level II iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher-in-Training, and a Reconnective Healing Foundational Practitioner. Terry believes the movement of the asanas (physical postures) combined with breath, meditation, and positive feelings, can enhance the connection of the energetic and physical bodies, thereby enriching the healing effects of yoga. He enjoys seeing his students learn and grow from the yoga practices that help us rediscover the inner light of Love. Learn more about the Triad Yoga Institute by visiting www.triadyoga.com
BiographyCatherine Crowder
Horticultural Therapist
Catherine Crowder defines her work as connecting people and plants. Gardening has long been recognized as a form of therapy, and in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven society time is not spent out-of-doors in a mindful, purposeful manner. In horticultural therapy, gardening and nature-based activities are used in a goal-oriented, structured approach to improve participants’ health and wellbeing. Catherine completed a 500-hour internship with Hospice of Greensboro, and in 2015 achieved the professional credential of “HTR” (Horticultural Therapist) registered by the American Horticultural Therapy Association. She says, "Feeling the sun on my face and digging in the soil is my happy place. For many years it was my therapy, an escape from a corporate job. Now, my hope is to share the healing aspects of nature with individuals facing health issues or general life struggles."
BiographyKim Cuny
Expressive Writing
Looking back, it clearly all started on the first day of kindergarten. You see, the teacher had planned to read the Richard Scarry illustrated version of Chicken Little to the class. Upon learning that her very favorite storybook was to be a part of the day, Kim immediately jumped to her feet and told the story herself! Kim has been telling stories to young people ever since. She is an award-winning teaching artist who has spent more than half of her life teaching adults to communicate more effectively. She also leverages story and drama in helping adults with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities and all young children make sense of the world around them. Kim is passionate about inclusion and loves imaginary play. She is thrilled to join the Hirsch Wellness Network as an instructor. You can learn more about Kim by clicking on her professional web bios: https://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/communicators/kim-cuny/ and https://vpa.uncg.edu/home/directory/bio-kimcuny/
BiographyTerri Feil
Yoga
Terri began practicing yoga in 2016 as her body yearned for movement and healing, a call for unification. She believes the practice of yoga asana brings the mind to the body and is a pathway to connecting with the inner light of awareness, our true nature, which is perfect and whole. Terri is a certified yoga instructor at the 500-hour level and is currently working towards attaining yoga therapy certification. She teaches yoga at The Triad Yoga Institute, Guilford College, and several retirement communities in Greensboro.
BiographyAlex Gaal
Drawing and Stippling Artist
Alex has always had a passion for art ever since she was a child and she has continued that passion into adulthood when she got her Drawing and Printmaking BFA from UNC Greensboro. She has spent the last 5 years concentrating on Stippling in her personal art. The repetition of mark making is very relaxing and meditative for her. She is focusing on how an assemblage of dots can explore the fine line between having the dot create a scene of chaos versus a scene of calming. A dot can represent a star, a planet or even a whole galaxy but what Alex is interested in is how one can convey the calmness of something so chaotic using these small marks. In addition to creating art, Alex is interested in pursuing Art Therapy as art has helped her through many things in her own life. In the future she wants to help enrich the lives of both individuals and communities through the creative process of art making and psychotherapy.
BiographyDeveta Glenn
Mixed Media Arts and Crafts
Deveta is a retired art teacher. She graduated from Appalachian with a BA in Art and Psychology. She has taught in public and private schools, Gaston School of the Arts, and private art lessons. Before becoming an art teacher, Deveta was a Medical Social Worker. She is very passionate about the arts and loves the way time ceases to exist during the creative process, which she has seen to be very healing.
BiographyMolly Haile
Writer
Molly Haile is an MFA Graduate of UNC Greensboro’s Creative Writing Program. She is a passionate storyteller and has been inspiring Hirsch Wellness participants with a regular “Writing to Heal” workshop. Molly teaches as an adjunct professor of Creative Writing at Salem College in Winston Salem, NC. One of her favorite quotes is by the author Flannery O’Connor,“I write to discover what I know."
BiographyKelly Joel
Mixed Media and Edible Art Artist
Kelly joined the Hirsch Wellness family after her diagnosis with advanced ovarian cancer. Starting with online classes, she progressed to in-person sessions, volunteering, teaching, and eventually becoming an Artist in Residence—goals she is proud to have achieved. With a background as a graphic artist, art director, pottery studio owner, art instructor, and mental health therapist, Kelly brings a wealth of experience to Hirsch Wellness. She has also earned awards for her cake artistry, with her work featured in international publications. Kelly finds great joy in being part of Hirsch, where she helps others while continuing her own treatments. She lives in Greensboro with her husband Mark. They have two college-aged daughters, and three beloved dogs.
BiographyDalene J-Lowery
Paper Crafts
Art has been a part of Dalene’s life for as long as she can remember. She would see something of interest and then work to re-create it for herself. By the time she was nine years old, she was making her own clothes and jewelry. At the age of 12, she created and built a model home, complete with landscape and lighting. She spent many years learning and teaching a variety of crafts including drawing, sewing, macrame, embroidery, floral decorating, and scrapbooking and card making… just to name a few. Currently, as a retired educator, Dalene works out of her studio, specializing in creating gifts for others. She also works with paper crafts, scrapbooking and creating dioramas. She enjoys sharing her love of creating with everyone!
BiographyMavis Liggett
Painter and Mixed Media Artist
Mavis Liggett had already worked a number of years in the field of creative arts when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two years into her treatment, she was given the opportunity to paint full-time after being laid off from a decade-long career as an art director. Opening a painting studio in downtown Greensboro, Mavis discovered that when she was painting, she felt free and completely in the moment, with no regrets for the past or fears of the future. In 2006 she began teaching drawing and painting for Art Alliance Greensboro and, more recently, workshops for Hirsch Wellness Network. As a cancer survivor, Mavis credits the time she spent painting during her recovery as a major contribution to her continued survival. In addition to teaching, she is also the sole proprietor of Nuclear Catfish, her own fine art, design and marketing business.
BiographyJacqui Mehring
Textile Designer and Landscape Artist
Jacqui Mehring is a Scotland-born fiber artist and garden designer. Jacqui came to NC State University as a teaching assistant for the Textile College and stayed on to work as a textile designer, then as a horticultural therapist and landscape designer. She has taught classes at John C. Campbell Folk School, in art centers, in the Health Care System and Hospice. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to teach tapestry weaving with Hirsch Wellness and her favorite part of teaching is to see the students’ tapestries!
BiographyBob Nordburch
Painter and Print Maker
For Bob Nordbruch, painting is a momentary visual state of mind captured on canvas. His thoughts are fleeting, so what the viewer sees only preserves impressions from a forever-changing inner landscape of mental images originating in "Bob's World". With a brief period of training in the visual arts, five years of teaching art, and a lifetime of observing, Bob finds great satisfaction and pleasure in pursuing his personal vision. He continues to grow as an artist, actively engaging with the shifting elements of his imagination to form creative connections that, like spirituality, bring him back again and again to inspiration and self-renewal.
BiographyChristian Patterson
Music Therapist
Christian Patterson, MT-BC, is a music therapist and sonic artist based in Greensboro, NC.
He founded B.E.A.T.T. Space (Bringing Expressive Arts Therapies Together), a music therapy practice that centers on accessibility connection through sample-based and electronic instrumentation.
A graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory, Christian has been practicing music therapy for over 5 years, receiving certification in the VOICSS model for music therapy.
When not in session, Christian enjoys roller skating and performing music live.
BiographyHe founded B.E.A.T.T. Space (Bringing Expressive Arts Therapies Together), a music therapy practice that centers on accessibility connection through sample-based and electronic instrumentation.
A graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory, Christian has been practicing music therapy for over 5 years, receiving certification in the VOICSS model for music therapy.
When not in session, Christian enjoys roller skating and performing music live.
Ash Poirier
Meditation Instructor
Ash has studied with masters in the field of meditation since 2011. She is a US Navy veteran and a physician assistant who brings her deep curiosity of the mind-body connection with the caring, steady qualities of a spiritual friend. Ash has studied with leaders in the field including Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, as well as other teachers in the mindfulness community. Join Ash and reap the many benefits of this ancient practice which includes improved sleep, increased happiness, and better brain function.
BiographySusan Ridenour
Pottery
Potter Susan Ridenour graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill earning a Master of Social Work degree. In 2001, after a 15-year career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she began working in clay, starting at Art Alliance of Greensboro and later becoming a board member of Art Alliance. Stoneware is Susan’s medium, either gas reduction or electric fired to cone 6 or cone 10. Her pieces are wheel thrown functional ware for everyday use. She also hand builds structural forms constructed using finger pinching, coiling or handmade slab techniques, also made to be used. Susan originally sought out clay knowing that making something from her own ideas and her own hands would be a balm to her spirit and would foster healing and recovery after a difficult health diagnosis. Clay has continued to be a healing balm. She has been grateful daily. And currently, like many others, cancer has touched her life and through Hirsch, she has found a way to share the healing power of clay with others. To learn more about Susan and her work, visit 205collaborative.org or Instagram at pinchpot04.
BiographyMichele Rieder
Zentangle Instructor
Michele Rieder is a woman of many talents who has dedicated her life to teaching and serving others. Her career as an occupational therapy practitioner included helping patients in hospitals, rehab centers and retirement communities. An accomplished pianist, Michele has played and taught piano for over 35 years. And as a dedicated mother, Michele spent 15 years homeschooling her four children. Michele's passion has always included art and music and Hirsch Wellness is fortunate that she continues to share her joy for teaching as one of our instructors teaching Zentangle. She received her CZT credential at the 34th Zentangle Teaching Program in Providence, Rhode Island in June 2019. Michele is also one of Hirsch's Artists in Residence at The Cancer Center.
Biography“Xin” (Terri Roberson)
Fiber Artist
As a community liaison Xin’s mission is to “serve TEA” (wellness Testimony, Exploration, & Advocacy) through the creative mechanisms of art, networking, special events, workshops, awareness, and sharing of viable information & resources. As an artist, Xin is inspired by the challenges, simplicity, and elegance of using naturally sustainable materials, specifically natural & recycled fibers, and fostering inspiration for collaborative projects with fellow artisans.
BiographyBill Savage
Taiji-Qigong Instructor
Bill is a student of Yang Yang, PhD. He practices the Chen Shi Xinyi Hunyuan style of Taiji with a lineage that can be traced directly back to Chen village where Taiji was created. He teaches an evidenced-based curriculum that includes Taiji form, Qigong, and meditation. The focus of the practice is not the esoteric. Rather, the focus is how a Taiji practice can benefit the student in their everyday life outside of the classroom. Bill is certified by The Center for Taiji Studies, founded by Dr. Yang Yang. The combination of the Taiji form, Qigong, and meditation build a practice with many benefits, including improved balance, strength, and immune system. It also helps to ease stress and improve sleep. Bill teaches two weekly classes at Hirsch Wellness. The classes are available for online and in person participation.
BiographyJack Stratton
Painter
Since receiving his BFA in Painting at UNC Greensboro in 1977, artist Jack Stratton has been making and showing his colorful expressionist paintings for nearly 40 years, both locally and nationally. After working for 10 years as a bookbinder at UNCG’s Jackson Library and another 20 years as chief art handler and preparator for the Weatherspoon Art Museum, Jack retired and settled into a routine of painting balanced with part-time employment. Currently, he teaches drawing and watercolor classes at Art Alliance Greensboro, a city-sponsored arts organization, and also freelanes as art handler, exhibition installer, lighting/gallery consultant, and curator.
BiographyBeverly Vaughn
Reiki, Breathworks and EFT Tapping Instructor
Dr. Bev Vaughn has her BM, MM and PhD in music education from Westminster Choir College and UNCG. She taught for 30 years in public schools and 43 privately. In addition to teaching choir, theater, humanities, and general music, she was a guest choral director for all-county programs, guest lecturer both nationally and internationally and taught private voice and piano. She founded and directed the Rockingham County Youth Chorus for 15 years. Currently she has spent the past four years becoming a Usui Holy Fire III Karuna Reiki Master teacher and enjoys teaching and giving Reiki. In addition, she is training to be a Breathworks coach for pain and anxiety. She is a Stephen minister and a Community of Hope lay minister. She enjoys doing energy work, hiking, painting, and learning new things!
BiographyHirsch Wellness is Proudly Supported by:
Hirsch Wellness is supported, in part, by funding from Creative Greensboro, the city’s office for arts & culture.
Support for this organization was made available through the New Creative Investment facilitated by The Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, a division of the Designated County Partner, with funding from Guilford County and the North Carolina Arts Council American Rescue Plan Act.